The Terran Empire Part 1
by Jackadoodle
Summary: What if the Ancients had not been wiped out by the ori plague?  What if they never had to deal with the threat of the wraith?  Where would the Ancients be now?
1. Chapter 1

Akron sighed in content, his scientists had managed to create a vaccine against the plague that the Ori had unleashed upon his home galaxy and this discovery had saved millions of his people. "This has been a very good day", he muttered quietly to himself. Akron thought back to the beginning of the day before he had been told of the scientist's accomplishments.

It had started out like any other day on Atlantis; he had awoken at the hour of sunrise, as per usual, conducted an experiment into a possible new weapons technology to act as defence against orbital threats and had presented his findings to the other members of the Alteran Council. They were pleased with his findings but the council had far more pressing matters at hand. The Ori, an enemy long thought to have been forgotten, had created a plague that specifically targeted the genetic make-up of the Alterans and so far there had been no cure. The Ori had not been heard from since the Alterans had originally left from there home on Celestis and the Alteran Council were at odds as to how they had found them and why they wanted to destroy them. The plague was killing people daily and the council had every scientist on Terra and those stationed offworld working on a possible cure. Presently the council were beginning discussions regarding the evacuation of Atlantis to another galaxy away from the lingering threat of the Ori plague. They had opted not to chose Andromeda as their new home galaxy due the lack of habitable worlds from which they cold expand an empire. Nestled not too far from Avalon was a small galaxy named Pegasus, which they believed would suit their needs perfectly. The seed ships they had sent out hundreds of years ago to explore the universe had already seeded a gate network there and it was a simple matter of flying Atlantis to a specified planet from which they could set up a new, mightier empire than before.

However, just as the evacuation plans were being finalised, a senior biomedical scientist from one of the offworld colonies requested an audience with the council in regards to a breakthrough in a cure for the Ori plague. The scientists name was Hergara and she was communicating with the council via a holographic interface from Dakara; which housed one of the many research facilities scattered over the galaxy. "Greetings from above and below, councillors, I come with joyful tidings in these dark times, as we speak my students are finishing the cultivation of a vaccine that I have designed to target and destroy the micro organisms that make up the plague, we are just waiting for the strain to be mass produced before we can begin releasing it into the general population" said Hergara to a thunderstruck council. "Please forgive our lack of enthusiasm, lady Hergara" said Councillor Menia, "but you have caught us by surprise, we had began to give up hope that a vaccine could ever be developed". "Indeed it is a miracle councillors however I can assure you that the cure does indeed work, I have personally tested it on 50 plague carriers from Taonas and my scans show a 99.9% eradication of the virus from their systems, furthermore it seems that they have now developed an immunity to the virus" Hergara stated. The councillors gasped in amazement, to cure the virus was all they could've hope for but this immunity was a gift in itself. With this miracle in place it may be that they did not have to relocate after all.

The councillors bade that Hergara leave immediately to oversee the production of the vaccine and made promise that she would receive the thanks and admiration of the entire Alteran population for her tenacity and hard work. She bowed once and the holograph dissolved.

Back on Dakara, Hergara beamed with pride and beckoned one of her students over to her. "Mellwynn, my child, how soon are we able to begin spreading the vaccine amongst our people, for I am anxious to see the fruits of my labour?" she asked. "My lady, whilst you were conversing with the council we finished cultivating the stain into a workable applicator, our simulation shows that within 24 hours of inoculation, our brethren will have developed a 99.9% immunity to the plague, we have found that due to our genetic make-up we cannot develop a total 100% immunity but the 0.1% does not allow for the plague to become a threat to us anymore", replied Mellwynn. Hergara beamed down at her protégée and guided him towards the window that overlooked the city below. "This, my child, this is what we are preserving" she motioned to him, " take pride in the part you have played in this Mellwynn, your accomplishments have not been forgotten, nor shall they go without due credit", she said to him. Mellwynn smiled at his master before excusing himself to oversee the production of the vaccine.

Hergara stared at the Dakaran landscape beneath her and smiled; with this new development she could see great things ahead for her people. What she had set in motion would change the universe in ways she could have never dreamed possible.

Mellwynn walked over to his computer terminal and input his command code bringing up a map of the galaxy, he quickly mapped a route for the delivery of the vaccine and ordered the dispatching of Dakara's fastest ship to carry the precious cargo to his people. He estimated that full delivery of the vaccine would be achieved in twelve hours. He smiled, with his accomplishment and walked down the corridor to a transporter booth. Once inside he selected the booth closest to the cargo bay and was immediately transported in a flash of white light to the other side of the complex. Once there he had his assistants load the vaccine canisters onto the Verimas-Class Cruiser that he had acquisitioned for the job. Once all was loaded he signalled the pilot that he was clear for embarkation. Satisfied that he had done all that he could do, he began to return to his quarters for the evening stopping only to collect some fresh water from the spring.

Back on Atlantis, the High council had just received Intel on the vaccine distribution throughout the galaxy. They were overwhelmed by the news that in just a few more hours their people would be free from the threat of the Ori plague. Immediately they began discussions on what they should begin to do next. There were many paths that lay in front of them. Some believed that they should devote their time and energy on the path to ascension whereas others believed they should build a mighty empire all across not only the galaxy but also the entire universe. The idea of a an empire so large was an appealing prospect to the Terran Council and so they voted to send an expedition to Destiny; a ship sent out many hundreds of years ago to create a beachhead in a galaxy far from there own, in the hopes of setting up a permanent colony there.

Some thought this plan was illogical as there was no way to provide continuous assistance to the colony that was so very far away. However an idea was presented to the council that could prove a useful solution to the problem at hand. As the power requirements to reach Destiny were astronomical, a scientist named Amelius, the namesake of the original designer of the Astria Porta, came up with the idea to use artificially created black holes to power a large scale version of the Astria Porta that would be created in space. He believed that if two devices were created at either end of the galaxy, then virtual instantaneous travel between both points would be possible; allowing for the movement of materials, technology and manpower along with vessels to the other galaxy. To do this, the newly created matter conversion units would need to be taken aboard Destiny where they could begin to build the individual components that would make up the larger Astria Porta. "Once assembled on their end", he said, " we can connect the 'gates' via the same subspace signal used in our long range communication devices and we will be able to dial in, so to speak". A higher-ranking scientist confirmed the validity and reliability of the young scientists research and the council gave him permission to begin the necessary preparations.

Elsewhere in the galaxy, the inoculations against the plague were being carried out by the medical officers on each world the cruiser visited; transporting its payload into the healing centres dotted on the planets surface before jumping to hyperspace to its next designated location.

On the surface of Vis Uban, a city was being built, however construction had ground to a halt when the people were infected with the plague. Having just received the vaccine, the structural engineers were anxious to get construction started again. Thanks to the new matter conversion technology made available to them, the building of their new capital would be complete in a shorter time. Vis Uban was to be the crowning jewel in the Terran Empire and would unite the most brilliant of minds from all over the galaxy. It would be a place of learning and culture, healing and laughter and many of the offworld colonists were leaping at the chance to come here. Ultimately it was a t the discretion of the council as to who would be living here. Until then, Atlantis had always been the capital of the empire however Vis Uban was to be far greater and magnificent than any city-ship ever could be.

The council decided that ecumenopolis cities would be built to cover Terra with Atlantis at the heart of it acting as the capital city of Terra. Sky-bridges would be used to connect the city to the city-ship and would be retractable to allow Atlantis to leave the planet if necessary. "It's going to be quite magnificent" said Akron, "this is indeed a time of change and the council has decreed an age of discovery, both technological and explorative, we wish to use the time we have been given and use it to spread our empire out into the stars". Akron's message to the Alteran people was being broadcast via hologram to every colony in the galaxy and was being watched by hundreds of thousands of people.


	2. Chapter 2

All over the galaxy the necessary preparations were being made to enter into the new age of discovery and the Alteran people now had something to look forward too. Now free of the virulent plague that had stalked the people of Avalon, the Alterans united in celebration and vowed that whatever might lie in the future; it would be a time of prosperity and peace that would span for many thousands of years.

In Atlantis, the high council was once again in session; having just been informed that the vaccine had finally finished being distributed throughout the galaxy. They were, having just decreed an age of discovery, deciding upon the best course of action that would best allow their people to do this.

Councillor Menia was currently outlining her ideas to the council, " Once we have secured our foothold in the outlying galaxy destiny is currently residing in, we must begin the construction of long term colonies throughout the system. This will allow our empire to grow exponentially within a short amount of time. Amelius' Laniatus Portas is currently being planned in orbit above terra and the plans are moving swiftly. This gives us two way transport to the galaxy and provides ongoing support to our people there". The other councillors nodded in agreement. This project they believed would kick-start the growth of an empire so vast and mighty that it would endure until the end of time.

Over the next weeks construction began on the individual components needed to create the Laniatus Portas and, with the overseeing of the construction by Amelius himself, the device was nearing completion. Running concurrently was the construction of the components needed to send through to destiny. They were being built on the planet that had the necessary energy requirements needed to dial the ship and were soon ready for the trip many millions of light-years across the universe.

Once assembled, the plan was for the components to be flown into orbit above terra where they would be reassembled into the Laniatus Portas. Likewise would the Destiny Laniatus Portas components be positioned in orbit above a planet in the unknown galaxy. Once successfully pieced together the devices would transmit a signal to each other pinpointing their positions in space utilizing the same technology that allows the long-range communications devices to work in tandem.

An expedition had already been sent to Destiny and they were currently stationed in a system where the seed ships had seeded the most stargates. Currently there were nine gates in the newly dubbed 'Colonium system' and the high council believed that this was enough worlds to jumpstart long-term colonies.

The Laniatus Portas was to be positioned above the planet that the high council had selected to be the heart of the colony. Aboard Destiny the matter conversion units had just finished assembling the final component. The lead science officer on Destiny was a man named Hallun and he was overseeing the construction of the Laniatus portus on his end. Beside him was the representative from the council, communicating with him via the stones that had been brought aboard Destiny from Terra.

"The council is extremely pleased with the progress on Destiny, Hallun, and they are anxious for the first shipment of supplies to be sent here" said Weyydon, " Of course once the Portas is online, you will of course be having this conversation with the council face to face". Hallun smiled down at the young representative and turned his attention once more to the task at hand.

The matter conversion technology was a new breakthrough in Alteran technology and the scientist was amazed at the speed in which the device had been created. What once would have taken months of arduous work was taking weeks with no input from Alteran hands whatsoever, as the unit worked by converting raw energy into matter which was then virtually pieced together from base molecules. The units were brought to Destiny during the first shipment of supplies to the ship.

But now they had nearly finished the job that they had been built for. The construction of the Laniatus Portas was scheduled for the following day and Hallun was to make sure that everything went smoothly. Hallun called over his associate who was nearby at a workstation. "Syym, how goes your preparations for tomorrow, have you allocated enough space in the cargo hold to account for the supplies we are to be receiving?". "Of course Hallun, you seem to think me a fool sometimes, I am quite capable of performing such a simple task, the space is ample to hold the supplies until adequate structures are built and with the new matter conversion units that will take no time at all". "Forgive me Syym", replied Hallun, "I am growing old, my friend and my mind betrays me at the best of times, forgive my lack of faith in you, my worrying is for naught". The two smiled at each other before going about their business once more.

The plan was for a small number of ships to travel through the Laniatus Portas from Avalon to assist and protect the new colony and for supplies and technology to be beamed through the wormhole directly into Destiny's cargo holds. The matter conversion units would be used to create structures on the first planet that can accommodate 1000 Alterans and once a viable colony was set up, more people would be able to travel there.

The council had selected the best and brightest of there people to set up the colony and due to her amazing accomplishments in the creation of the vaccine to counter the Ori plague, Hergara was being offered command of the outer-galactic colony as a reward. Such a command was unheard of and Hergara leapt at the opportunity; the council was providing her with a great honour and she promised that she would give her life to the colony.

Soon the time to test a connection between both portals and everyone was filled with excitement and trepidation. Both science and security teams were on standby in case of an emergency and the council were observing the trial onboard an Aurora-Class vessel in orbit of terra. On an Adaris-Class science vessel near the Portas, a scientist named Fergall was given the go ahead to activate the device. Drawing energy from subspace that mimics the radiation given off by black holes the device was able to use the energy to throw a wormhole to an adjacent Portas resulting in instantaneous travel between both points. Fergall typed a command code onto his terminal and the signal was sent to the device. Almost immediately he was rewarded with the coordinates of the second device on the other side of the universe. He opened a secure channel to the council, "Councillors we have made a connection through subspace, and we can now pinpoint the exact location of the second Laniatus Portas in the unknown galaxy". He told them, and to prove his point he sent them a holographic map of the known universe with a course that travelled through many galaxies until it reached the once Destiny was currently residing in.

The council were contented with these findings and ordered Fergall to dial the Portas. Back on the Adaris, Fergall input the spatial coordinates into his dialling program and sent the signal to the device. In space the Portas begin spin and one might observe what seemed like electricity running through it, this however was perfectly normal as the individual components where being immersed in the energy needed to dial. Once each component was charged the Portas stopped spilling and for a moment there was silence among the observing people. And then, with enough power to obliterate anything within its path, an unstable vortex was created to the lack of consistent power running through the Laniatus Portas' buffers. After a few moments the event horizon was still once more and had the same appearance of the Astria Portas however on a larger scale. The Alteran scientist, Amelius, who had created the project looked over his equations regarding the power requirements and by doing a small calculation was able to surmise that the gate could remain open indefinitely as it was constantly drawing energy to sustain itself from subspace. The Portas could however be deactivated to allow dialling in from the other galaxy.

Now that the device had created a wormhole, it was important to test the safety of travellers going through the wormhole. First a probe was sent through the device to see of travel was even possible. Using a communication stone one of the councillors could almost see everything going on from the other end and within minutes there was confirmation that the probe had arrived, fully intact. The next test was to send a Gateship with a single Alteran inside through the wormhole. Everyone was silent as the ship flew over to the Laniatus Portas from a hangar bay on the Aurora-Class Vessel. Slowly it inched its way closer to the event horizon and soon had entered the vortex. The young pilots bio-rythms were being monitored and seemed stable and again there was confirmation from the councillor when the gateship was received on the other end; both pilot and ship alive and intact.

Satisfied that the tests had proved the safety of travel the High Council ordered all departing to ready for transport in two hours.


	3. Chapter 3

At last it was the time every Alteran had waited for with baited breath; the first pilgrimage through the Laniatus Portas to an unknown and uncertain future. The assembled fleet was in position near the Portas and Hergara was standing on the bridge of the lead ship: Liberium. She beamed with pure joy, anxious to see what awaited her on the other side. She had of course travelled through an Astria Porta on many occasions yet nothing had quite prepared her for what lay just a few hundred metres in front of her. The device looked just as an Astria Portas did yet was many times bigger and required more power then ever.

On another ship near the rear of the fleet was the science vessel Adaris where Fergall was inputting the address to the secondary Portas and was waiting for the go-ahead to dial the device once more. To his left his computer terminal alerted him to an incoming message from the council; _Begin the dialling sequence. _Fergall bade to do as he was ordered and input the signal. Again the device began to spin and electricity was once again channelled through the device before the wormhole was formed once more.

.

The High Council, once satisfied, ordered the embarkation of the fleet, which was composed of the newly constructed City-Ship; Terra, three Aura-Class Scout Cruisers, one Libertum-Class Evacuation Ship, One Laniatus Class Warship and a Videum-Class Colony Ship. The council believed this was enough to start small-scale colonies and the decision for sending more ships would be made at months end. Slowly, the Alteran fleet began to move into position before the gate and one by one they entered the event horizon. Time seemed to stand still as those in Avalon waited for conformation that the fleet had been received on the other end. Using the stones the councillors could see everything that their companion stone user could see. From the observation deck on Destiny, the high council were able to see the fleet exiting the Portas and moving into formation around the planet. The Alterans were ecstatic, now they could continue their voyage of exploration and discovery and extend their mighty empire out into the stars.

The Colonium Star System was now coursing with activity, all over the system, the Alteran colonists were busy preparing dwellings from which they could begin to live their new lives. With the amazing technology the Alterans had access to, there empire was swiftly growing and within no time at all, a permanent city had been constructed on the first planet in the system, which they named Unum, the Alteran word for First World. With the Laniatus Portas providing ongoing support from Avalon, the high council could see amazing things on the horizon. The Alterans had managed to give their subspace communication device a massive boost of power meaning that it was able to project a holographic avatar of the stone holder. This allowed for face-to-face communication without actually being face-to-face. Currently Hergara was deep in conversation with the High Council. They were deciding on the best direction to take their exploration. "I strongly believe that the smaller scout ships we have in our possession should be used to further explore the galaxy", said Hergara, "with these we can find new worlds, potential allies and supplies so that we can become self sufficient on our own". The council pondered her words for a moment before Menia replied, " This is indeed a most opportunistic idea and I for one would be glad to see the empire grow, however, I, and I believe my fellow councillors agree with me, that we need to concentrate our efforts on achieving all we can in the colonium system before we move further out into the galaxy". The other councillors nodded in agreement and Hergara bowed. "If this is the councillors wish". She bowed once more the holograph faded from existence. Merodan, one of the older members of the council looked around the room before saying, " We need to be wary of her, my friends, she commands great respect and we cannot afford for her to undermine us, this could prove disastrous if we do not tread lightly with her".

Back on Unum Hergara left the communications terminal and wandered around her city. Like the plans on Terra; a huge colossal city had been built on Unum and the City-Ship Gaia was there at the heart of it, the heart of the colony and the facility that housed the planets Astria Porta. The city was still growing through the use of Matter Creation droids and the hope was that by the end of the planetary cycle around the sun, the city would have covered the entire planet. It was such a site to behold; when buildings simply leapt into creation before your eyes and it made Hergara smile. She was surrounded by huge towers intermixed with the beauty of nature all around her. She breathed deeply; the atmosphere on Unum was slightly different to that of Terra and it took a while to get used too.

In order to protect the colonium system Hergara, with the council's go-ahead, ordered the construction of the experimental lagrangian point satellites throughout the system. The devices were extremely experimental and had not yet been tested however the universe was a dark place and such precautions were necessary in order to protect the Alteran people. Running alongside the defence satellites were the cloaked jumpers being manned by an autopilot bio-presence. Hergara was not yet ready to send her people out unprotected and her lead scientist was able to run a program to allow the control of a jumper from a terminal in Gaia. It was a complicated algorithm that mimicked the brainwaves of an Alteran and sent them to the console aboard the jumper essentially allowed for remote control of the ship. Currently a young pilot was testing the interface and was channelling his thoughts into the program. His thought patterns were then adapted into workable jumper commands. The mechanisms of the device allowed the pilot to see what was happening from the jumper and gave him the sensations of being inside the jumper.


	4. Chapter 4

I am incredibly sorry about the long absence – I got a new job and this drifted to the back of my mind. However I am re-launching the fiction as I was unhappy with the story and the direction I was taking it. I am in the process of rewriting and hope to have the first chapter to you soon. Thankyou for your patience. Don't be alarmed, the basic premise of my story will remain the same but I need to concentrate on making the characters and stories lines more in keeping with stargate canon.


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